Queen Charlotte Track

After 6 days in Wellington with Paula & Scott (Abby's Aunt and Uncle) and a large amount of food consumed, it was time to finally farewell the North Island and board the ferry for the South Island.

Once off the Bluebridge, I headed straight over to Beachcomber cruises where I caught a ride to Ship Cove. From here I would start a three day, 70km journey along the Queen Charlotte Track, finishing up in Anakiwa.

Ship Cove brought back a ton of memories, as I had visited during my time at Outward Bound. I remember sailing into the bay and running up to the lookout with my watch - Rutherford 589, before returning to our boat and sailing back down the sounds.

After a short first day because of the time spent on water getting to Ship Cove. I pushed for Bay of Many Coves shelter the next day. Along the way I couldn't help but admire the track, it was well cut and cleared. Making it accessible for people of all ages.

Day 3 on the QCT and the second full day and it was another cracker of a day. Views across the sounds were expansive. I bumped into a group of hikers from Christchurch (Jack, Jeremiah,Jeremiah, Jack, Rosie, Kirsty and Kim) also doing the QCT and walked to Mistletoe Bay with them. The campsite setup at Mistletoe was impressive. Hot showers, power, kitchen and a small shop in the reception area. Although a little pricier than other campsites along the QCT, the hot shower went down a treat.

The final day on the QCT was a cruisy 4 hour walk along the coast to Anakiwa. Again, walking with the group of hikers from Christchurch.

After saying farewell to my new friends, I had a tedious road walk to Pelorus Bridge Camp. The hot dry weather which I was lapping up a couple of days ago, made it tough going. Although a pit stop at the local service station for an ice cream helped me cool off.

Richmond Ranges

The Richmond Ranges is arguably one of the toughest sections on the Te Araroa trail. The park spans several regions and comprises mostly of the steep native forest-covered mountain country between Nelson and Blenheim.

After some R&R in Nelson I was ready to get going again. I successfully hitched back to Pelorus bridge and met up with Devon and Marina (the couple I walked through the Tararua's with) and another kiwi walker named James. We spent a couple of hours at the Pelorus Cafe catching up and in that time I couldn't resist buying a pie, knowing full well that I was going to be out of civilisation for at least another week.

After a 2-3 hour road walk and a few sharp climbs we made it to the first hut of the Richmond Ranges, Captain Creeks Hut. One older lady was already there and one day from completing a 6 day solo tramp (respect). Robin, a TA walker from Germany came a little bit later in the evening to fill the little 6 bunk hut.

As I pulled out my food from my bag, I suddenly got a sinking feeling. Some of it was missing and I knew exactly where it was. My salami, cheese and hummus were sitting in the fridge back in Nelson. The bad news was, I was now lacking ingredients for my lunchtime wraps. The good news was, I had a small jar of peanut butter.

After dinner we all scanned the map on the wall and plotted out where we were going to try get to. Devon and Marina sarcastically said they were going to aim for Starveall Hut (1187m), knowing the hut was 30km away and featured a step 700m climb. It's definitely easier said than done.

The next day, we definitely didn't reach Starveall and we most definitely weren't close. A sharp climb up to Rock Hut had us with our hands on our heads, breathing heavily. Eventually, we made it to Browning Hut and called it a day.

As we cooked up our dinners that night Devon and Marina sheepishly admitted that they didn't have enough food to last them through the ranges. James and I offered them what little we had but they knew they were cutting it fine and decided to try hitch out from a road end and re-supply in the morning.

The next morning Devon and Marina left on a search for food and James and I continued for Slatty Hut. The early morning climb was hard going and I found it tough going keeping up with James. As an ultra light walker he was able to move a lot quicker than I was.

By lunch we had made it to Starveall and were now out above the bushline. Looking back we could see out towards Nelson. Turning on my phone, I checked the weather. Bluebird today, heavy rain and wind tomorrow. Great.

As predicted, the weather was less than ideal the next day. Our goal was to reach Rintoul Hut but with two high peaks to get over, Little Rintoul (1643m) and Mt Rintoul (1731m), I was apprehensive. By lunchtime we had made it to Old Man Hut. Why we decided to drop 300m to the hut I do not know? The hut was off the track and meant instead of a 300m climb to Little Rintoul, we had a 600m climb. As we crawled up the hill, James broke from me and Robin. By the time we got above the bush line, we couldn't see him because he had gone too far ahead. The visibility was poor and now that we were out of the bush, we were more exposed.

I didn't expect James to wait for us and by the time we got to the top of Little Rintoul, I knew he had pushed on to Rintoul Hut. The weather by now was deteriorating rapidly. Wind and rain was coming in sideways. I turned to Robin and asked him what he thought, he replied "I don't know, I haven't got any alpine experience". I looked down the slop where the track seemed to go. It disappeared into a sea of white cloud. "Nope, let's go back" I said to Robin. He didn't look one bit disappointed.

On the way down we bumped into John, another Te Araroa walker and told him the weather report. Like Robin, he was happy to turn around and call it a day. By 1pm, we were in Old Man Hut with the fire going and tea in hand. No one had any regrets.

The following day, the tops were still clouded over. Though there were patches of blue sky, I didn't want to climb up and down again so decided on an alternate route. The route dropped down to the valley below and travelled along the valley floor. The alternate route via lower Goulter Hut paid off. Although it looked longer on the map, I suspected there was less up and down than the alpine route.

It was a long day from Old Man Hut to Mid Wairoa Hut via Lower Goulter but I felt good and I knew if I was too slow I would get low on food.

After 7 full days, I emerged from the bush and on to the road. Battered, bruised and smelling like a tin of sardines, my time in the Richmond Ranges was up and I was thankful for that.

Nelson Lakes National Park

I was looking forward to reaching St Arnaud. After 7 days through the Richmond Ranges, I was in need of a shower and a decent feed. I was also pumped because Abby was flying down to join me for the rest of the walk to Bluff. No more lonely nights on the trail.

Without any planning and by share luck, Tony and Alison (Abby's parents) were staying at the Alpine Lodge where I was staying in St Arnaud. They had just completed Old Ghost Road and were heading back to Nelson. Abby's flight was the following day and we were still trying to arrange transport into St Arnaud. Tony and Alison kindly offered to help out.

It almost felt like an entirely new adventure when Abby joined me. While I had enjoyed the time to myself in the North Island I had missed having a companion to share the experiences with. She was just the motivation I needed to get through another couple of months of walking.

Our walk into Nelson Lakes National Park started off pretty light. Day 1 was a cruisy 3 hour walk around the lake to Lakehead Hut. Day 2 was a little more challenging as we ascended up the valley to Upper Travers Hut.

The walk from West Sabine Hut to Blue Lake Hut is a 3 hour walk. However Abby and I managed to stretch that out to around 6 hours. We were on cruise mode and were enjoying everything this place had to offer. Robins, Bellbirds and Fantails were a common sight.

Reaching Blue Lake Hut, we still felt like we had energy to burn and decided to push on to Lake Constance. We checked out the famous Blue Lake until the sandflies moved us on, had our dinner and continued on up and over. As we climbed around Lake Constance the views just got better and better. About half way around the lake we just had to take a break to appreciate the views. I think we could have stood there for hours but the clouds were dropping and so was the sun.

We reached the other end of the Lake and pitched our tent, feeling happy with ourselves for putting in the extra hours. We had a clear view of Waiau Pass and would be able to knock it out in the early morning if the weather looked good.

Waiau Pass was a hard slog but we had made sure we were up early to avoid the midday heat. I think we were expecting worse because we were both surprises to reach the saddle within a couple of hours. Once over the pass, we dropped down (rather steeply) to the Waiau River, following it down on to the St James Walkway. From there it was easy flat walking.

After 7 days, we made it out to Boyle Village. Thankful that we had such a good run of weather. My uncle John warmly greeted us in Boyle Village and took us back to his hometown of Reefton for a break.

Harpers Pass

After 2 days in Reefton with my uncle John, our minds were full of facts about the history of mining (John is a passionate Reefton historian). It was time to get back on the trail. Our packs were full of food (mainly chocolate) and our boots were once again dry.

Our walk up to Harpers Pass was relatively straight forward. After passing Lake Sumner we followed Hurunui River staying on the true left side the entire way. The natural hot pool just off the track on the way to Hurunui no.3 Hut was a refreshing surprise.

The next day took us through sub-alpine bush over Harper's pass to the Taramakau River. Recent landslides made some of the track tricky to follow and at times had us scratching our heads. We still made Locke Stream Hut in good time though and enjoyed the historic hut all to ourselves. Locke Stream Hut is another Physical Welfare Division classic. It was built in 1940 with hand-hewn timber by 65 year old packman, Sam Burrows. The hut was restored in 1993 through a bequest from Tom Beeston's estate.

Our last day through this section looked relatively straight forward on paper. We had to travel down the Taramakau river to Otira river/ Morrisons footbridge. As is commonly the case, this proved harder than anticipated. With route markers few and far between, a 4WD track along the river looked promising. However, it did not last long and we soon found ourselves bushbashing alongside the river.

Knowing that the weather was about to turn, we completed the section a day faster than originally planned. The final leg of the route involved multiple river crossings which become impassable after heavy rain. We spent a zero day camping out by Morrison footbridge, with the rain arriving as expected. We were then picked up by West Coast Shuttles, beginning our journey back to Auckland for Dan and Benita's wedding.

Deception/Mingha

Upon our arrival to Arthurs Pass we pitched our tent out the back of The Sanctuary, a small backpackers that offers free tent sites to TA walkers.

That morning we woke to the sound of Kea flying high above the township. Abby rushed to the unzip the tent door and poked her head outside in the hope of catching a glimpse of the alpine parrot that is endemic to the South Island.

An easy hitch north got us back to where we had left off and our journey continued up the Deception/Mingha. This route forms the mountain run component of the celebrated Coast to Coast race.

Because the route is prone to flooding and other thru-hikers had shared their near death experiences online, we were feeling a little apprehensive about wandering up the valley. But with the sun out and the river levels running low, our doubts were put at ease.

Leaving Morrison footbridge at midday, we walked at a steady pace up the valley. River crossings were frequent and it became clear why this route would be impassible in flood. As the sun lowered in the sky, the climb sharpened and boulders increased dramatically in size. At one point we found ourselves scrambling up a vertical rock face, only to discover a marker returning from a detour around the river further up. Longcuts aside, we made it to Goat Pass Hut (1000m) in good time.

Heading over Goat Pass the next morning, we dropped down to the Mingha River. The track was well formed and took us just under 5 hours to complete.

Our original plan was to pitch our tent at Klondyke Corner campsite for the night but on arrival we discovered that mice had made the shelter their home and the sandflies were an annoying reminder we were back in the South Island. We headed for the road and stuck our thumbs out and hoped for the best. Half an hour later, a german backpacker gave us a lift down the road to the start of Craigeburn Forest Park.

Runny noses and sore throats had us feeling a little worse for wear through Craigeburn. Luckily the section wasn't very challenging, allowing our bodies to recover.

With the Rakaia river being impassable, Laurie (my uncle) came to the rescue. Early on Sunday morning with chelsea buns and our food for the next 4 days in hand, Laurie arrived at the Harper Village campsite and loaded us into his truck along with follow TA walker Atawhai Charteris. We parted ways with Atawhai who wanted to resupply in Methven and continued back up to Glenrock Station, where we would get back on the trail.

Hakatere Conservation Park

We watched Laurie's truck get smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared from view. It was the middle of the day and the sun was out and burning our exposed skin. Feeling hot and lethargic, we slowly ambled into Hakatere Conservation Park.

The weather started to turn. Low cloud covered the mountain tops and a gentle southerly brought a cool wind that had us throwing on extra layers. We were thankful though, because the final push to Lake Clearwater was a 30km day and there weren't many water sources along the way.

We had met other thru-hikers who had crossed the Rangitata and they explained that they had made the crossing because there hadn't been any rain for over a week. With some passing showers the previous day, we didn't want to take the risk and decided to hitch around. This time, we didn't have any family or friends to help us out, we were solely relying on the kindness of strangers to pick us up and get us to Geraldine.

Walking into the settlement of Lake Clearwater was like walking into a ghost town. We made our way slowly through the holiday homes, looking for any sign of life. Nothing. Once on the main road, we had a quick lunch and waited for some form of transport to come and rescue us. Only a couple of cars came through in the first hour but it gave us hope that people did actually drive on the road. A couple of hours later we were having doubts that anyone would pick us up when seemingly out of nowhere a farmer pulled over and said those magical words "need a lift?". We had escaped a very remote part of the country and were now on our way to Geraldine, where a hot shower and fish and chips awaited us.

Two Thumb Range

We arrived in Geraldine, stayed at the Geraldine Holiday Park and the very next day we were on our way back into the mountains to begin the Two Thumb Range. Getting out there was no easy feat. We caught a ride out to Peel Forest cafe and then patiently waited around until we could get transported up the valley with Mike, the rural postie. It was an informative 40 minute drive as Mike explained the history of the valley and how it was formed. As we progressed up the valley we were greeted by blue skies, a stark contrast to the rain we left behind in Geraldine.

The first couple of hours involved an easy walk up the river, before the track steeply climbed towards Crooked Spur Hut. On arrival we heard a scratching noise coming from the ceiling. We looked up only to find a mouse staring back at us with its beady little eyes. "Yeaaaaah, how about we tent out tonight?" I said to Abby. She took didn’t need any convincing.

That night as we prepared ourselves for bed we heard another noise, this time coming from outside of the tent. I looked at Abby to see if she had heard it. She had. Ok, I wasn't hearing things. The noise sounded like it was coming from an animal. I couldn't put my finger on it. It definitely wasn't a large animal but it was making enough noise to get our attention. It was dark now so I grabbed my head torch, unzipped the tent and jumped out. I scanned the surrounding area and could make out something hopping away from the tent. It was not just one but three Kea. They returned in the early hours of the morning to play tug of war with our guide ropes. It was a pretty special moment as we lay in our sleeping bags with the tent door open, these endangered alpine parrots just metres from us.

Our walk to Royal Hut was fairly uneventful but we were in good spirits because we knew we were only a couple of days away from Tekapo, a place Abby was keen to check out.

Once again, we found the next hut was ridden with mice and we made the call to camp outside. This time, however, we were too close to the hut and the whole night mice scrambled over our tent trying to get into our packs. Paranoid that they would get into our food, I spent most of night keeping them at bay. Meanwhile, Abby slept like a rock.

Stag saddle is seen as a Te Araroa trail highlight because of its stunning views, so we were a little disappointed to wake and see thick fog covering the mountain tops. The saddle was a white out but we still felt a sense of achievement as we stood on the highest point on the Te Araroa trail. Luck was on our side in the afternoon. Hoping that the cloud would clear, we slowly walked the ridge line down to Tekapo and that's when we saw the views. Our jaws dropped.

With the clouds clearing and a picturesque view of Tekapo emerging, we knew we had to camp up on the hill. I left Abby with the task of setting up the tent while I walked down to the bottom of the hill to collect water from a nearby stream. A bit of hassle but totally worth it.

Upon reaching Tekapo we had a nice quiet evening on the lake front. From here we spent a couple of days resting and planning our detour to one of New Zealand's most iconic spots, Aoraki/ Mt Cook.

South Island Part One